Top Chef has been in my brain. Do you remember Richard Sweeney from last season of Top Chef? Richard lives in San Diego and I had the opportunity to meet Richard and his fellow Top Chef teammate Jamie Lauren today. We were corresponding yesterday and he had a recipe for a Pasta Fagioli on his website. It looked so good I had to try it out.

I have to say that I enjoyed it so much, I had 2.5 bowls that night. The next day however….it was even better! Here are my photo’s from my reproduction of Rich’s Fagioli. Note: I used 14 Mini-Roma Tomatoes instead of full sized Romas.

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This recipe is reprinted from Rich’s website www.wannabchef.com

• Olive Oil
• 1 lb. Bulk Hot Italian Sausage
• 1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. Crushed Red Chile Flakes
• 1 Tbsp. fresh Rosemary, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh Thyme
• 2 cans White Cannelini Beans, drained and rinsed
• Roasted Tomatoes (see below), chopped
• 1 cup Red Wine (I used Cab. Sav.)
• 2.5 quarts Chicken Stock
• 6-8 oz. Ditalini Pasta
• 2 Tbsp. Basil, chiffonade
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• Basil & Grated Parmesan or Asiago Cheese for Garnish

1. Heat a heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat.  Add 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil and then add sausage, breaking it up into bite-sized pieces with a spoon.  Stir until browned, then remove from pot and reserve.
2. Add 1-2 Tbsp. Olive Oil more, and sauté the garlic, onion, and chile flakes for 3 minutes.
3. Add in Cannelini Beans, Roasted Tomatoes, rosemary , and thyme.  Stir well to combine. Sauté 2 minutes.
4. Deglaze the pan by CAREFULLY adding in the red wine, and using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Reduce to about 1 ounce of liquid, stirring frequently.
5. Add in the chicken stock, sausage and stir well to combine.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.  Using a stick blender, pureé some of the soup to help thicken it up.
6. Stir in pasta and cook for about 7 minutes (subtract 1 minute from package directions al dente cooking time).
7. Reduce heat to a simmer, and season to taste with Salt & Pepper.
8. Just before serving, stir in basil.  Add more basil to the top and grated Parmesan if you like before serving.

If you’d like the soup more broth-y, you can skip pureeing the soup.  Also, you can cook the pasta separately and add it in just before the basil, just before serving (just be sure to cook the pasta according to package directions, then run under cold water to stop the cooking process).

Roasted Tomatoes

• 8 Roma Tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 16 pieces fresh Thyme, about the size of the tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp Garlic, minced
• Olive Oil & Black Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Place the tomato halves, cut side up, on a sheetpan and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Sprinkle some of the minced garlic on each half.  Top with a piece of Thyme sprig.
4. Roast in 400°F oven for about 1 hour, until the omatoes atart to brown.
5. When cooled, cut each half into bite-sized pieces, about 6 pieces per half.